Time Capsule: Juilliard’s 1999 National Medal of Arts

From the Archives

By Jeni Dahmus Farah
In September 1999, the White House named Juilliard as one of 11 recipients of the National Medal of Arts, an honor awarded to individuals or groups “deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.”

Juilliard was the first performing arts educational institution to receive the medal since its establishment by Congress, in 1984. The citation states: “This renowned conservatory has trained many of the world’s most talented performers of music, dance, and drama. Through free performances and by bringing its works to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and schools, Juilliard has strived to make the arts accessible to all.”

President Joseph Polisi and Mary Rodgers Guettel, board chair, accepted the award from President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton. Other recipients that year were arts patron Irene Diamond, singer Aretha Franklin, architect/designer Michael Graves, producer/writer/director Norman Lear, actress/producer Rosetta LeNoire, arts administrator Harvey Lichtenstein, singer Lydia Mendoza, folk singer Odetta, sculptor George Segal, and dancer Maria Tallchief.

Jeni Dahmus Farah is director of the Juilliard Archives